Liner for a shower stall



July 7, 1964 H. l.. RICE LINER FOR A SHOWER STALL om u. A w

n f v MSW United States Patent O 3,139,627 LINER FOR A SHOWER STALLHarry Lawrence Rice, deceased, late of New York, N.Y.,

by Helen Rice, Administratrix, New York, N.Y., assignor to Rubber andPlastics Compound Co., Inc., New York, N.Y.

Substituted for abandoned application Ser. No. 28,965, May 13, 1960.This application Aug. 8, 1962, Ser. No.

This invention relates to wall construction and, more particularly towalls of enclosures for showers, commonly known as shower stalls.

An object of this invention is to provide a new shower stallconstruction wherein a continuous barrier is placed between the outersubfloor and the inner tile floor and between the inner tile wall andthe outer wall to prevent the splash of the shower from seeping throughthe subfloor and through the outer wall.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a barrierwhich isformed of a single material and which is waterproof, damp proof andcorrosion resistant.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a barrier which isfungus and mildew proof and is resistant to vermin and rats.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a barrier which canbe formed in situ or can be preformed and placed in a wall constructionwhich is characterized by structural simplicity, ease of constructionand low cost.

Further objects of the present invention will be evident from thefollowing description of the embodiment of the invention as illustratedin the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a fragmentary section plan view of a portion of one embodimentof the present shower stall construction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of preformed barrier used in the showerstall of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a barrier formed in situ by folding froma single sheet along the lines marked thereon.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the construction shown in FIG. 3 beforefolding, showing marking lines for folding.

Before describing in detail the herein disclosed embodiment of theinvention, it is to be understood that the present invention is notlimited to this embodiment but the scope of the invention is limited bythe appended claims.

The prevailing practice in the construction of shower stalls consists inthe use of barrier sections made from metals such as lead, zinc, copperand aluminum, upon a concrete base. The resulting barriers have shownthemselves to be inadequate in regard to seepage prevention and to longuse. This can well be appreciated when one observes the vulnerability ofthe above mentioned highly reactive metals when brought in directcontact with green, wet or damp concrete. Moist calcium carbonate,formed by the interaction of water and Portland cement, will deterioratea lead barrier by rapid corrosion, particularly during the period ofcuring of the cement into concrete. In order to cope with thiscorrosion, it is common practice to use a heavier thickness of the metalin order to allow a margin for this metal corrosion attack. This resultsin excessive costs besides the fact that the lead continues to corrodein spite of the extra thickness employed.

To overcome this difficulty, it is frequently necessary to resort toimbedding the lead in layers of asphalt, varnish, pitch or in a wrappingof jute with bitumen, placed between the lead and the concrete. However,it has been found that the Portland cement solids, as well as thealkalis used in the showers slowly emulsify the protective 2 Claims.

3,139,627 Patented July 7, 1964 When copper is used as a barriermaterial it is subject to the above mentioned hazards. In addition,solder must be used to seal the joints. Since solder contains zinc, thecorrosion of the joints and barrier by the wet concrete materials isaccelerated. In case of fire the solder melts, destroying the waterbarrier properties.

In the invention the abovementioned difficulties such as corrosion,water seepage and fire hazards are eliminated resulting in a unitarystructure which is corrosion proof, water proof, mildew proof and fireproof. This is accomplished by using a rigid, organic, formed plasticpan, shaped as shown in FIG. 2 and set to the wall structure and on thefloor as shown in FIG. l. The stall is formed from a thermoplastic orthermosetting, heat or cement scalable rigid sheet which is made frommoisture impervious material such as vinyl chloride, Vinylidenechloride, polyethylene, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, melamine, epoxyand polyesters, which may be sheeted, calendered or extruded, and iscapable of being preformed or rendered rigid.

One of the features of such a shower stall made from this type ofplastic is that it can be heat sealed unto itself or cemented to andwith the same type of plastic material, using as a cementing means suchmaterial dissolved in ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone or self curingepoxy cements. Shower stalls made of thermosetting materials are reresistant, vermin proof, odorless and safe from the molestation fromrats and have an integral structure.

Referring to FIG. 1 a fragment 1 of the plastic shower stall (FIG. 2) isshown in place above a wooden subfloor 2 next to the masonry wall 3. Theinner surface of the shower stall is lined with a welded wire fabric 4which serves to retain the Portland cement grout 5 to which is securedthe iioor tile 6 and the wall tile 7. It is evident that the plasticshower stall effectively serves as a barrier to prevent water fromseeping through the cement and tiles to the wooden sub base.

To install the plastic shower stall upon a concrete foundation, thestall can be secured to the concrete by simply grouting in with aPortland cement mortar, consisting of l part Portland cement, 1/10 partof lime and 3 parts of sand, together with the necessary amount of wateradmixed to provide a trowelable well mixed mortar, which is spread for athickness of 2. For the purpose of cementing this plastic waterproofshower stall to a wooden floor base, a solvent cement containing theplasticized ingredients of a polyvinyl resin, tackiiers and a ketonicsolvent, such as methyl ethyl ketone, is employed at the rate of spreadof to 100 square feet per gallon.

Fabricating of the stall, before the actual emplacement upon or atop ofthe base of surface for which it is intended, can be accomplished bypreforrning, precasting or premolding. It can also be accomplishedeasily and readily at the job site, as follows:

The flat sheet of plastic is cut to the required overall length andwidth and marked as in FIG. 4. It is then folded into the shape of thecompleted stall (FIG. 3), including the lower pan 8', sidewalls 9', rearwall 10', sill 11', side wall covers 12' and sill cover 13. The innersurfaces of the pockets of the folds 14 and 15 in FIG. 3 are cemented toeach other with a waterproof cement.

In shaping or forming the barrier it is important to so make the sidesof the stall to allow for sufficient barrier height of turned upmaterial along the sidewalls, and to have the wall corresponding to thesill cover, correspond to not less than three inches above the roughcurb, sill,

Maase? dam or threshold. This three inch extension should ap over thesill and be cemented thereto. The corners of the stall should be foldedso that the pan formed thereby can be square on the inside, for layingtile thereon. For

removal of Water when showering, a clamping ring type of subdrain withWeep holes is inserted in the drain hole 16. A screw type of subdraincan be used provided the compression ring is lubricated or sealed. It isobvious that a barrier can be formed similar to FIG. 3 without thesidewall covers 12 or without the sill cover 13'. In the latter case thesheet in FIG. 4 is completely rectangular without the extension 13'.After the stall is placed in position, right angular strips can becemented to the barrier to serve as side Wall covers or as a sill cover.

What is claimed is:

1. A substantially rectangular impervious sheet having two longitudinallines marking ofIr the sheet into three substantially equal panels, thecenter panel being slightly longer at one end than the other two panelsby a distance equal to a curb width, a marking across the center paneldefining the extra length, two transverse markings at the ends of thepanels near the eXtra length, the nearer one of the transverse marksbeing about as far from the ends of the outer panels as the farther endof the center panel, and the second transverse mark being substantiallyas far from the first transverse mark as the Width of the panels, saidsheet being foldable along the markings to form a shower stall liner.

2. A substantially rectangular impervious sheet having two longitudinallines marking oi the sheet into three substantially equal panels, thecenter panel being slightly longer at one end than the other two panelsby a distance equal to a curb width, a marking across the center paneldefining the extra length, two transverse markings at the ends of thepanels near the eXtra length, the nearer one of the transverse marksbeing about as far from the ends of the outer panels as the farther endof the center panel, and the second transverse mark being substantiallyas far from the rst transverse mark as the Width of the panels, anddiagonal markings extending from the rst transverse mark at the outersides of the outer panels to the second transverse mark at the innersides of the outer panels, said sheet being foldable along the markingsto form a shower stall liner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,087,121 Samelow July 13, 1937 2,484,240 Morthland Oct. 1l, 19492,697,231 Strand Dec. 21, 1954 2,757,385 Whittick Aug. 7, 1956 2,899,687Rossetti et al Aug. 18, 1959 2,962,405 Morthland Nov. 29, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,196,215 France May 25, 1959

1. A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR IMPERVIOUS SHEET HAVING TWO LONGITUDINALLINES MARKING OFF THE SHEET INTO THREE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL PANELS, THECENTER PANEL BEING SLIGHTLY LONGER AT ONE END THAN THE OTHER TWO PANELSBY A DISTANCE EQUAL TO A CURB WIDTH, A MARKING ACROSS THE CENTER PANELDEFINING THE EXTRA LENGTH, TWO TRANSVERSE MARKINGS AT THE ENDS OF THEPANELS NEAR THE EXTRA LENGTH, THE NEARER ONE OF THE TRANSVERSE MARKSBEING ABOUT AS FAR FROM THE ENDS OF THE OUTER PANELS AS THE FARTHER ENDOF THE CENTER PANEL, AND THE SECOND TRANSVERSE MARK BEING SUBSTANTIALLYAS FAR FROM THE FIRST TRANSVERSE MARK AS THE WIDTH OF THE PANELS, SAIDSHEET BEING FOLDABLE ALONG THE MARKINGS TO FORM A SHOWER STALL LINER.